(626e) Upgrading Biomass Derived Lignin for Hydrocarbon Production

The current vision of biofuels production undervalues lignin’s potential to address the nation’s high quality liquid fuel requirements. The utilization of waste lignin as a feedstock for conversions to hydrocarbons offers a significant opportunity for enhancing the overall operational efficiency, carbon conversion rate, economic viability, and sustainability of biofuels production. Despite the potential, the conversion of lignin to biofuels has proven to be challenging. Several solubilized and depolymerized lignin fractions with a range of structural features were separated from cellulosic biomass as intermediates for further conversion to hydrocarbons. The detailed release and fate of lignin and lignin mono/oligomers during hydrothermal pretreatment with or without additives (e.g. catalysts) was characterized under various conditions (e.g., temperature, time, flow rate etc.). Various advanced analytical techniques, such as 1D and 2D NMR, FTIR, GC/MS, and GPC, were applied to derive the associated chemical changes in lignin, and lignin-carbohydrate complexes during the various pretreatment and depolymerization processes. The strategies for developing catalysts that can both selectively depolymerize the lignin framework and remove oxygen by hydrodeoxygenation will be addressed in the presentation.